Prof. Beteille studied caste in Thillaisthanam (a village near Tanjore) for his PhD, and his book Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village (published in 1965) is something that I have enjoyed thoroughly. As Prof. Beteille himself notes elsewhere,

In Caste, Class and Power, which was a lightly revised version of a Delhi University Ph.D thesis written under the supervision of M.N. Srinivas, I followed the established convention of the anthropological monograph based on intensive fieldwork, long stay in a community and detailed observation of its everyday life. But, instead of focusing on problems that were then central to anthropology such as kinship, marriage, religion and ritual, I chose class and stratification which were central to the concerns of sociology. That book was written with the conviction that the convergence of sociology and social anthropology was a distinct and exciting possibility, and that Indian sociologists could contribute something to its realisation. The book had a mixed response. I was sharply criticised by some anthropologists in Europe for trying to introduce class and stratification into a domain where they did not fit. On that point I believe I have prevailed over my critics.

The essay while acknowledging that caste is the defining feature of the community in India, and that is has been a vital socio-economic institution since historical times, goes on to discuss the distinction between class and caste in the Indian context, and the politics associated with it. All this discussion would have been purely academic and would have been of interest only to sociologists, but for the clear connection that Prof. Beteile makes between the Indian middle class, and their political mobilisation towards their own communities. Thus, the article is both of academic and practical interest.

Finally, there are some interesting pieces of historical information too in the essay; for example, I found that K B Krishna’s 1939 book The problem of minorities (which Prof. Beteille feels made the shrewd observation of the connection between the Indian middle class and their caste politics) got this following note the International Affairs journal:

This work is by a convinced Communist who wholeheartedly approves the conditions created by the Bolshevist regime in Russia and who wishes to see a similar state of affairs created in his native country, India.

The note goes on to point out that Krishna faulted the Imperialist Government for its communal representation schemes. In this sense, the present day reservation and communal representations, as they are practised in India might be British legacies.

In any case, if the questions of caste, reservation and caste politics interests you, here is an essay that you must read.